Must-Have Zaurus Hardware and Software

You just got your Zaurus; you tried every
single application and even typed some commands in the terminal to
prove it really is a GNU/Linux machine in the palm of your hand.
You know where most of the keys are but still may be looking for
the pipe (hint: it's Shift-Space). So now what to do? This article
presents some recommended upgrades and killer applications.

Expanding Memory

You will need more than the 32 or 64MB of RAM that comes with
the Zaurus, because the system uses most of that memory even if you
haven't installed anything. With a stock 32MB 5000d using ROM 2.37,
only 600k of memory are free without any application installed or
started. You have two places to put more memory: the SD/MMC slot or
the CompactFlash slot. You need the CF slot for a network card, but
SD/MMC can be tricky.

SanDisk cards, the most popular and cheapest SD cards, are
prone to failure. Sharp even had to release a new driver to fix
some problems with the less than $50 US 128MB SanDisk cards that
would fail after repartitioning or work only once. The real problem
is SD drivers can never be free software because of the
copy-restriction system. Get an MMC card instead; free drivers are
available.

Case and Accessories

The Zaurus is a hot seller in Japan, and diverse accessories
are available there. Do yourself a favor and at least get a leather
case from Extreme Limit. The Portfolio model will protect your
Zaurus perfectly. Another good case is the GLP-824 iPAQ case from
Sumdex, which can be zipped for full protection.

I suggest a second battery and charger as well. If you keep
your Zaurus in the case instead of docking it, you also will need a
USB charging sync cable. However, don't get a serial cable; it is
badly designed and will prevent you from opening the
keyboard.

Updating the SL-5000D...and the 5500

The 5500 has very few differences from last year's developer
model, the SL-5000D. The 5500 comes with Hancom Office, a better
metal and plastic stylus and a better AC adapter. Although the
Zaurus doesn't have a built-in microphone, the die-hard hardware
modification crew can build one in (see Resources).

ROM: Sharp, Opie, Paul or Crow?

Now that your hardware is ready, it's time for some software
tweaks. Many different ROM images, or ROMs for short, are available
(see Resources). Creating your ROM also is possible with modzaurus.
If you have the Sharp ROM version 2.37 or earlier, there is a known
security issue, so you should upgrade.

Which ROM is best? Sharp is the default ROM sold with the
Zaurus and is widely supported. Opie is a pure, free software ROM
with improved default applications. Paul ROM is the stock Zaurus
ROM with some modifications to use the MMC card as the storage
media, keeping the whole memory available as RAM. Crow ROM is the
equivalent of Paul ROM with Opie software.

Opie's overall design is better, with a filesystem more like
standard GNU/Linux, and it includes more recent versions of
applications than Sharp ones. However, it lacks the Java VM and the
Opera browser, and its improved filesystem makes it incompatible
with some third-party software. If you have an MMC card, you really
should consider Paul's or Crow's. Simply format your MMC card as
ext2, and it will be mounted under /home. Opie also can use an MMC
card but has compatibility problems.

The best ROM would include improved Opie applications, let
you install non-free software (at least Opera, Jeode, Hancom Office
and theKompany.com applications) and work flawlessly.
Unfortunately, it does not exist—yet.

The ROM updating process requires care. First, download the
ROM version you need. Remember, the latest is not always the best.
Once you have downloaded the ROM file of your choice, put in a CF
card using a USB CompactFlash reader or a PCMCIA converter for
CompactFlash cards. First, check that your CF card is formatted as
FAT16, then rename your chosen ROM file to Romimage, and put it in
the root directory of the CF card. Check that the entire file
copied correctly to CF by comparing the file length and md5sum to
the original.

Next, if you have any important data in your Zaurus, back it
up. Any data will be lost during the ROM update process. Now, turn
off your Zaurus, and plug in the AC power. The orange
charging-battery LED will turn on. Then, open the battery
compartment lid, but do not take the battery out. Now the tricky
part: while pressing the C and D keys on the keyboard at the same
time, press the full Reset button once. This button is located
below the battery compartment and can be accessed with a
stylus.

You may need a friend to help with this awkward key-pressing
sequence. If you are successful, both LEDs will turn on and the
update process will start. Don't touch anything—an incomplete ROM
update may damage the Zaurus, so have a coffee and come back three
minutes later. You will find both LEDs turned off. Then, you can
eject the CF card, close the battery compartment and press the
Reset button.

The most common way for this to fail is if you put an
incomplete Romimage file on the CompactFlash. Check after copying
and before inserting the CF card in the Zaurus.